How and when will St. Pete replace erased murals? 

St. Petersburg officials continue exploring ways to express the city’s diversity and inclusivity without drawing the ire of state leadership. Many stakeholders are ready for action.

During an Oct. 23 Committee of the Whole meeting, councilmember Gina Driscoll told her colleagues that if they moved high-visibility concepts forward with unity rather than disagreement, they would “arrive at a really great place” by the end of the discussion. She apologized to the community an hour later for a “Bermuda Triangle of bureaucracy” impeding those efforts.

“I was expecting that today, two months after we started this saga, something would be coming; something was imminent,” Driscoll said. “I cannot stress enough the urgency that has been communicated about responding to this.”

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) removed five street murals throughout St. Petersburg over Labor Day Weekend. Mayor Ken Welch pledged to create new “powerful expressions of who we are” a week prior.

A city attorney subsequently warned that the State of Florida could abolish St. Petersburg, which lacks free speech protections, at any time. In an early September memo, Welch wrote that staff would distribute posters of the erased artwork and hundreds of Pride and Black History Matters flags to organizations and businesses.

“What we’re hearing from people is that they don’t want to see more memos. They don’t want to see more focus groups,” Driscoll said Thursday. “The goal, really, is to have something that’s bold; have something that is immediate.”

A survey regarding those efforts received over 200 submissions from Sept. 9 through Oct. 8. Respondents said the street murals made residents and visitors feel welcomed, seen and safe.

Requested actions include adorning city-owned facilities with artwork, collaborating with the SHINE Mural Festival, distributing Pride and Black History Matters flags to the community, commissioning a piece of public art, painting bicycle racks and displaying a message of unity on I-275 billboards.

Councilmember Gina Driscoll asked the city’s marketing department to print hundreds of additional Pride (left) and Black History Matters flags for distribution.

City council members seemingly reached a consensus on the bicycle racks. However, FDOT can regulate any item in a right-of-way.

“I think we would have no problem finding a private donor to take care of the paint,” Driscoll said. “Key West made it look so easy. Maybe it’s not the boldest thing in the world, but it’s a ‘now’ thing.”

Driscoll proposed creating two alternative city flags to show solidarity with marginalized communities earlier this month. She offered to put that “to the side” if her colleagues disagreed with the idea.

Councilmember Mike Harting said he supports many of the survey suggestions. However, he believes the city flag is “generic for a reason,” as it represents roughly 280,000 residents from all walks of life.

“When we talk about changing the flag, I’ve heard the word ‘inclusive’ enough that I want to retire it,” Harting added. “It’s not inclusive. We, very specifically, have been talking about two parts of our community.”

Adorning city-owned facilities with murals is also a popular concept among officials. Assistant City Attorney Ben James said he “would think that we would have more rights associated with our parking garages and those sorts of things” than surface lots and other property along a right-of-way.

James also noted that the city must complete a “complicated analysis” before allowing any murals on public buildings. Assistant City Attorney Brett Pettigrew said those installations would lack free speech protections and are subject to state preemption.

“The state could come along and say, ‘You must say certain things,’” he explained. “The state could come along and say, ‘You must never say certain things.’ There’s a lot of freedom, unless and until the state takes it away, when we are speaking through our own property.”

A mural by local artist Alyssa Marie adorns the city-owned Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg. Photos by Mark Parker.

City Attorney Jackie Kovilaritch said her department would carefully review proposals after the meeting. She will let the council and administration know if those have no or significant legal issues, or if something is “in between.” Officials must then discern their risk tolerance.

“I really would hate to paint all of our city buildings and then be told they have to be made grey all of a sudden,” Driscoll said.

City Administrator Rob Gerdes said commissioning a SHINE mural or a “significant piece” of public artwork in one of the city’s parks are possibilities. While it would depend on guidance from the legal team, the mayoral administration is also comfortable with installations on municipal buildings.

Councilmember Richie Floyd said he “wouldn’t be here right now” if potential state preemptions dictated his role. He believes painting murals similar to those erased on city-owned facilities is the “easiest thing to do.”

Floyd also agreed with Driscoll’s suggestion that bike racks could reflect the identity of various neighborhoods, and that using artistic lighting could provide an alternative to murals. Councilmember Brandi Gabbard said she is leading efforts to rename streets.

“I was planning on moving forward with something,” Gabbard added. “It is not ready yet, by any stretch of the imagination, but those wheels are in motion.”

The Arts Advisory Committee meets Oct. 31. Celeste Davis, director of arts, culture and tourism, said she would share “where we are in the process of actually coming up with some concrete suggestions.”